…it’s cinematically brilliant, psychologically probing, and keeps you on the edge of your seat. I have seen the film over a hundred times and it gets better every time.

On Friday, January 16th and Saturday January 17th at 7pm, our International Series continues with The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog by Alfred Hitchcock. Shown in 35mm at the new Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar, the film will be screened with a live world premiere performance of an original, 90-minute score by Joseph V. Williams II for four guitars and cello. The performers are the Texas Guitar Quartet and superstar cellist Bion Tsang.

Tickets and information are online here. Seats are going fast!

We asked Williams, our Composer in Residence, to tell us a bit about The Lodger:

Austin Classical Guitar: What do you love about this film?

Joseph V. Williams II: The Lodger is a riot. It’s a love story and a trail of murders. It’s dark, it’s strange, it’s ridiculous, and I love it. This is Hitchcock’s first great film and bares the mark of all that is Hitchcock: it’s cinematically brilliant, psychologically probing, and keeps you on the edge of your seat. I have seen the film over a hundred times and it gets better every time.

ACG: Tell us about the score you’ve composed.

JVW: The new score is a nearly a year in the making and is entirely original music. The fascinating part of creating music for this film has been the process of capturing the different characters and themes to create a sound world that allows the audience to get caught up in the story. At times the music anticipates, sometimes it foreshadows, and sometimes it works in complete contrast to what is happening visually. The music dances with the film, and the film always leads.

ACG: What should we expect in this experience?

JVW: A live musical performance shakes up the whole experience of watching a movie. Live musicians create an intimacy that shrinks the distance between the film and the audience. I couldn’t be more happy to have virtuoso cellist Bion Tsang and the Texas Guitar Quartet presenting this early Hitchcock masterpiece.